Entries in jason biggs
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Sound is something most moviegoers take for granted. Most don’t walk out of a film and talk about the sound effects or the catchy soundtrack or the beautiful musical score, yet those things are absolutely vital to its success. Without them, a movie just isn’t complete. I say this only because I was forced to watch American Reunion sans the soundtrack. For whatever reason, be it a problem with the print of the film or the theater showing it, one of the sound channels never made a peep. In a movie that promises a high school reunion (which, of course, comes with dancing), the exclusion of music is a major distraction. It’s far too silly to watch the people onscreen flail their bodies to a nonexistent beat. Despite this problem and my general dissatisfaction with the way the film was presented to me, I’m still recommending American Reunion because it manages to be the most complete and dramatically effective film in the series while still retaining the raunchy humor it’s known for. The accompanying music was sorely missed, but the fact that the film still worked in spite of that is a testament to the talent that put it together.

Thirteen years have passed since American Pie hit the scene and now everybody we know and love is off doing their own thing. Jim (Jason Biggs) is still married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and now they have a kid. Oz (Chris Klein) is the host of a television show and is in a relationship with a beautiful, but crazy young girl named Mia (Katrina Bowden). Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is essentially a housewife and has moved on since his break-up with ex-girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid). Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) tells everyone of his adventures around the world while Stifler (Seann William Scott) is working as a temp at a prominent accounting firm. They haven’t seen each other since Jim and Michelle’s wedding, but they have all come home for their thirteenth East Great Falls high school reunion (it turns out the reunion planner simply forgot to do it on their tenth) and though they only plan on reminiscing about their past adventures, little do they know they’re about to have a new one instead.

It’s pointless to discuss the humor of American Reunion. If you’ve seen the other films in the series, you know what you’re in for here. It’s essentially more of the same and if you found it funny then, chances are you’ll find it funny now. What’s far more interesting in this offering of vulgarity and sexual shenanigans is its unanticipated maturity. As everyone does at some point or another, the boys have grown up. That obsession with sex they had in the original film has progressed to a longing for a stable relationship. Most of them are presently in one and they all have their problems, but the desire to love and be loved is their central focus, eclipsing the childish and exaggerated importance of sex. In one early hilarious bit, a group of beautiful young girls run by them on the beach and they don’t try to charm one of them into their beds; they’re too concerned with the sand that was kicked up in their faces. This growth is unexpected, but welcome, and it gives the film far more dramatic weight than any of the previous films in the series.

The only character who seems to have not grown up is Stifler. He’s still rude, crude and looking for hookups, but you quickly realize his behavior is merely a cover for his general unhappiness. He hasn’t done much with his life and is the lowliest of all the workers at his place of employment. He wants so badly to hang onto the past, and with good reason, that he sees no other alternative. Anybody who has lived in that transition from childhood to adulthood can understand his mentality. His character arc will hit close to home to many people—mostly to those who have struggled to enter into the adult world after school—and its effectiveness, given that it’s coming from the lewdest character in the entire film, is a wonderful surprise.

Although there is plenty of sound drama in the film, American Reunion seems to have no faith in itself, forcing dramatic scenarios where they don’t fit just to give the characters some type of emotional conflict to overcome. The most obligatory example comes when Michelle learns that Jim drove his attractive 18-year-old neighbor home after a heavy night of drinking. Nothing happened and Jim did the right thing—he got her home safely rather than risk the possibility that she could end up killing herself or someone else—but she gets mad at him anyway. Perhaps I’m simply looking at the scene from a male perspective and see no wrongdoing in his behavior, but that makes it no less trite. These forced scenarios also lead to some horrific acting, most notably by Tara Reid and Thomas Ian Nicholas. None of these folks are known for their dramatic chops and a number of scenes are difficult to take seriously, despite their serious intent.

Nevertheless, American Reunion is everything a fan of the series could want. It’s still funny and unabashedly crude, but there’s a sense of closure, that these characters have finally found their bliss. In a way, it’s kind of like an actual high school reunion. It’s a celebration of what used to be, but also a realization that moving forward and growing up is sometimes better.